Astrid Garwin
Astrid Evette Garwin is a main character in an as of yet un-named Covenant story. She is tall, at 5"9; born on the 20th of October, 1985, in Portland, Oregon. She is known for being the adopted daughter of the Garwin family, and older sister to Reid Garwin. She turns 21 during the events of the story. 'Background' Her adoptive mother, Jean Garwin, knew from the moment she married Richard that she’d only ever have one child, and that it would be a boy. She was fine with this, as she loved Richard, but at the same time she also longed to have a baby girl. After a couple years of marriage, she asked her husband if they could possibly adopt a girl, and while he had his drawbacks to begin with, he couldn’t see why not. Astrid’s biological parents were a teen couple in Portland, Oregon, who’d wanted to find a family to adopt their baby as soon as she was born. When the Garwins offered, they were the best candidates by a longshot, and Astrid moved down to Ipswich when she was only a few days old. Jean and Richard never tried lying to her about her background, they never hid from her the fact that she was adopted, and she was grateful to them for that. While she grew up knowing that she wasn’t their biological daughter, she thought of them as her parents in every way, and her childhood was a happy one. She loved her little brother, Reid, when he was born, and doted on him from the first day she met him. Astrid was also not kept in ignorance about the Covenant, her father’s Powers, or the fact that someday her brother would also have those same Powers. She worried about Reid, and about the other boys, whom she came to think of as a tribe of little brothers, and she tried to do her best to learn as much as she could about all of it, so that she could better understand and perhaps help them. She attended Spenser Academy throughout her high school years, and while she did like the school, she never really fitted in with the academic reputation that it carried. Her main enjoyments there were being on the track team, and the arts program. Astrid was a bright girl, but never fully dedicated to things that didn’t hold her interest, and as such, achieved fairly low grades in her science and maths subjects. She did passably well at English, but excelled in arts. She gained a track scholarship to Harvard University, and while she was incredibly tempted, she ended up turning it down. She didn’t want to go through more sitting in a classroom and bring board, and while she wanted to keep on going with arts, she felt that it was something that she’d learn better if she did self discovery, rather than hearing lectures on it. And she could still run in her free time. So Astrid forwent university, and took two years off to go and travel around the world. During that time, she went too all the continents apart from Antarctica, and she loved every minute of it. For Astrid, she got to absorb the culture and art of so many different places, that it really opened her up mind and gave her so much inspiration. She returned to Ipswich during the summer before Reid started Senior year, and before the events of Covenant occurred. 'Appearance' Astrid has a slim, almost willowy, build, but is also fit due to her practise of going on runs. She’s got a pale complexion, and a pretty, oval-shaped, face. Her eyes are a kind of strange blue-green-grey mix, with the ability to appear either of those three colours depending on circumstance. Her hair is a honey shade of blonde, and falls in waves past her shoulders. Really, she looks a lot like her adopted family, in spite of sharing no blood with them. 'Personality' Astrid is a very exuberant and bubbly kind of person, she has a happy and outgoing nature, and isn’t afraid to say/show what she’s thinking or feeling. She does have insecurities about being adopted, but she doesn’t like to dwell on it too much. She is very much a ‘live in the moment’ type of person, and believes in making every moment of your life count. She doesn’t believe in regrets, and has an ‘if you want it, go get it’ philosophy. Astrid is incredibly set in her ways, stubborn, and persistent when she’s set a goal. She’s always known what she wanted out of life, and made sure that she’s gotten it. She is not naive, but she does like to see the good in the world, and easily believes in things if she wants to. Astrid is content within herself, and doesn’t mind being solitary. She’s carefree, and doesn’t care what other people think of her, being completely her own person. 'Ambitions' She’s never had academic ambitions, knowing from a young age that that would never be her calling. She hopes to someday be a famous artist, with her name known in the artistic world, and her paintings remembered. Although, as she likes noting, all of her favourite artists only achieved this after they were dead. 'Strengths' Astrid’s strongest ability, has always been in her arts. She’s been drawing ever since she was little, with whatever she could get her hands on, and over time her skills grew naturally. Drawing, painting, sketching; you name it, she’ll do it. She also has the ability to forgo a constant need for company, and be completely happy with herself. She’s never relied on other people’s opinions to form her own idea about herself, and she’s never afraid to voice what she thinks. 'Weaknesses' She trusts very easily, and frequently sees only what she wants to see in a person. Astrid is often so caught up in the now that she forgets to remember mistakes in the past, or think about consequences in the future. Her way of acting without thinking doesn’t always serve her well, and is what commonly leads her into a tough situation. She has a hard time accepting help, always wanting to do things on her own, and if she makes a mistake, she’ll beat herself up about it for a while. Astrid also has a hard time admitting her feelings about anything to anyone, and it usually just comes out in her paintings, whether that be sad, happy, angry. If she is sad or angry, or any negative emotion, she’ll cover it up with extra happiness, a thing that only her family really notices. 'Habits' She always has a pen somewhere on her person, and when nervous it appears and she begins to idly draw with it, her arms normally have some kind of doodle on them at all times. Perhaps as a result of running track for so many years, her first instinct when faced with a new situation that scares her, is to run from it. She sometimes cuts off in conversations and begins to talk to herself. 'Relationships' 'Family' 'Jean Garwin' Despite not having given birth to Astrid herself, Jean loves her as much as if she had. She doesn’t favour either one of her children over the other, despite Astrid being the girl she wanted, and Reid being the son she birthed. Astrid has a very close relationship with her mother, and Jean is one of the people that is somehow always able to make her feel better. She doesn’t come to her mum with weighty matters, because she never wants to worry her, and Jean is always afraid that at some point Astrid will not feel as connected to her adoptive family. Jean’s over mothering sometimes gets on Astrid’s nerves, but on the whole she loves her mum, and would do anything for her. She’s grateful to Jean for adopting her, noting that she feels as if she really is a Garwin by blood. 'Richard Garwin' Both Richard and Astrid have a mutual respect and love for one another. Richard never lied to her about the circumstances for her joining the family, or about his own family history, and what that meant for Reid in later years. Astrid always looked up to her father, admiring him for managing his Powers the way he did, and it is Richard that she goes to if she is feeling troubled. Her father is the person that she feels more able to talk to, and if anyone can get her to open up, it’s him. She’s incredibly close to him, and he in turn has a special place in his heart for his non-biological daughter. He feels blessed, in a way, that he is able to have a daughter. Even though he had his misgivings to begin with on adoption, he grew to love Astrid powerfully, and he’d do anything for his little girl. 'Reid Garwin' Ever since he was born, Astrid has felt a very strong connection to her brother. She is three years his senior, and frequently lorded this over him when they were growing up. Showering Reid with affection is one of her favourite pastimes, and no matter how old he gets, she will continue to do so in an overdone and embarrassing manner. She worries about him a lot, and about the effect that his Powers would have on him/how he would control it. She’s tried to be a good advisor to him, and despite being annoyed at her excessive affection, Reid does look up to and love his sister a lot. He feels slightly haughty about the fact that he’s the only one with a proper sibling, and no matter how much he gets angry at her, he’ll defend her like a furious wolf if he has to. Astrid despairs at her brother’s behaviour with girls, and has frequently tried to teach him better, with no results. He is very protective over his elder sister, and has deliberately scared off a couple of her boyfriends in the past. 'Bryn Ludlow & Liam Ford' Her biological parents, and the ones who gave her up for adoption after they had her at the age of 16. Even though Astrid’s colouring could see her fit in with the Garwin family, if she stood next to her mother, you would instantly be able to see the connection in their faces. Bryn and Liam both came from Portland, Oregon, where they were in a band together with some mates (Bryn on drums, Liam on back up guitar). When they found out Bryn was pregnant, they didn’t want to keep the baby, but didn’t want to abort. After giving her up to the Garwins, they didn’t even follow up on Astrid, and really just wanted to erase her from their lives. But, when she was old enough to understand fully what ‘adopted’ meant, she wanted to meet her real parents, just to see what they were like. She was very disappointed, Bryn and Liam hadn’t moved from their home city, they were still trying to make it in the music business, and they showed little to no care about their curious daughter. She hates her biological parents, and hasn’t seen them since their first meeting. 'Friends/Other' 'Lucy Renwick' Astrid’s best friend ever since they were kids, Lucy moved to Ipswich when she was five years old, and met Astrid at primary school. The two girls first had a fight over who got to use what colour during an art session, but became good friends after that, being nearly inseparable. They were very similar, both enjoying the arts, both not all that academically focused, and Lucy also ran track with Astrid. Their main difference was that Lucy had more inhibitions, Astrid was always the one who’d charge ahead first, and who’d act without thinking. Lucy is more cautious, but still inquisitive, often daring Astrid into a challenge first. After they graduated Spenser Academy, Lucy went to UCA for a year, but dropped out of her degree when she realised she was doing nothing but wasting time. She came back home to Ipswich, and after Astrid returned, they still hang together and do art, but Lucy sculpts rather than draws. They also work in the same cafe. 'Tyler Simms' Out of all the other Sons of Ipswich, Tyler is probably the one she is closest to, no doubt because he is the one Reid is closest to. As with all the Sons, Astrid views them as her personal tribe of little brothers, and they all consider her an older sister in some way or other. She has a soft spot for Tyler, mainly because he’s often being dragged into her brothers antics, but also because he is the youngest. They get along well, and Tyler has frequently had to report to her if Reid’s getting out of control. 'Caleb Danvers' As the older out of all the Sons, Caleb often feels the weight of responsibility, and has to be the kind of ringleader of the group. Whenever he’s frustrated with the antics of the others, or just unsure of how to handle them, he normally calls Astrid in. In a way, as their kind of shared sister, she’s one of few people who can get them all under control at once, and Caleb respects that. He also can see how it’s sometimes difficult for her, being surrounded by all the Powers, and tries to explain as much as he can, and has no problem with her learning and reading the Book of Damnation. She respects Caleb’s ability to lead them, and knows the he’ll only do what’s best for them. 'Pogue Parry' Both Astrid and Pogue have a similar, casual, outlook on life, and so the pair of them get on rather well. If he doesn’t want to stress Caleb out, he’ll come to her with a question, and as with Tyler, he’s often had to call her to sort out Reid. Also, due to her being a communal sister, Pogue has gone to her for relationship advice on how to deal with Kate, not that he’d ever tell the other Sons that. 'Chase Collins' Astrid didn’t know Chase all that well while he was alive, her knowledge of him stemming from the few meetings they sustained, and everything that her brother told her about him. While she was furious that he’d dare try and take the Power from the boys she considered her family, she felt pity for him for his situation, and wondered at how differently things would have been if the fifth bloodline had been found and raised within the Covenant. 'Love Interest' 'Jordan Hale' Jordan and Astrid meet shortly after he arrives in town, and becomes a frequent visitor to the cafe she works at, coincidentally, only during her shifts. She is intrigued by this newcomer to the Ipswich community, she is quickly is drawn in by his charms and the fact that he’s completely different to anyone she’s ever met before. She can sense that there is something strange about him, but while she can’t pinpoint what it is, she loves being around him for the feeling of excitement he always seems to bring. She admires his devil-may-care attitude, and it doesn’t take him long to win her over completely. Prior to Jordan, Astrid had had few boyfriends. Partly due to Reid’s efforts, and partly because she just never seemed to be able to find a guy who she wanted to be in a relationship with. She felt so comfortable around Jordan, that she trusted him easily, and he really helped her a lot to get over her lingering insecurities about her place in the family. It was at his urging that she met up with her biological parents again, and tried to get to know them better. When Jordan started displaying interest in her family history, as well as the family histories of the other Sons, she didn’t become as suspicious as the rest of them, not wanting to think that there could be any bad motive behind him. She refused to listen to warnings from the Sons and her family to stay away from him, and Jordan managed to heavily manipulate her onto his side. When what he is was truly revealed, Astrid was shocked and hurt, and she struggled to feel like she could ever trust anyone again. She still loved him though, but her loyalty to her family outweighed that, and she had to accept that he was the enemy. But when he displayed mercy to the Sons, rather than kill her, Astrid was further convinced that he was a good man at heart. She didn’t want to give up on him, and after he left, she swore that she’d find a way to save him from himself.